Your Android Auto car is about to get a musical update

Android Auto could soon change the process bar for music apps, with a new "wavy" bar designed to match the Material 3 Expressive design on its latest Pixel phones with Android 16.

Found in the code of an unreleased future version of Android Auto, the feature was uncovered by Android Authority which managed to turn it on for a better look at what it offers.

The biggest impact is making the progress bar for a music track or podcast more engaging, so it's not just a flat line, it's has an undulation to it. That makes the progress easier to see at a glance.

Google's aim with Material 3 Expressive was to make everything more simple and allow for exactly this sort of thing – easier glancing. Having seen the wavy progress bar on Android phones, it's a lot more visible than the previous version, where you'd have to spot the dot to really see the progress of a track.

Now there's a colour change as the flat line turns wavy as you move through the track. It's definitely a lift to the visual experience and part of Google's efforts to bring the benefits of Material 3 Expressive to more Google properties.

In Android Auto, the new progress bar will appear wherever music is displayed, whether that's through the full screen view or in a widget to the side. We know that Google is trying to work on how media apps are displayed, while still working on deeper integration with the car's own media hardware.

While that's a confirmed feature, there's no telling when the wavy progress bar might be enabled for users of the popular in-car software. Currently it's not enabled in the app, so it's likely that Google will be working on other Material 3 Expressive elements to boost the consistency across the entire app.

The biggest change to Android Auto in recent months is the arrival of Gemini, allowing for the use of Google's smarter AI. While that's a rollout that's started, I haven't yet seen it in the UK, suggesting that it's taking some time to get going.